User:Cassiusdog22/Woodsman

Added Links/ Citations from various timber sports competitions and US Department of Agriculture and Forestry Service information pages on axes and chainsaws Also an article and book on different types of axes and their uses, design, and application.

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Woodsman refers to the title of competitors participating in competitive timber sports. Woodsmen participate in various events that replicate real skills used by lumberjacks while cutting down trees and preparing the wood. Participants use various tools, such as racing axes, throwing axes, cross-cut saws, and chainsaws.

Obstacle Pole Section:

The mechanics of the Obstacle Pole simulate a fallen tree. The pole is 25 feet long, one end is in the dirt and the other is raised 4-5 feet off the ground. The participants are timed, and whoever can run from the tip of the pole to the base, up the length of the pole as it ascends in elevation, and cut the end of the pole off with a chainsaw, without falling, is the winner. The chainsaw is only allowed to be running in the last 5 feet of the pole and is indicated by a line painted on the pole. The runner must also enter the climb of the pole behind a marked line at the base, which indicates participants must place one whole foot behind the line before they begin their climb.

Jack and Jill:

Jack and Jill is a crosscut saw event that has one male and one female participant running the "double-buck" event. The name originates from the male term lumberjack and the female term lumberjill.

Choker Race: A timed race where participants navigate an obstacle course carrying a metal wire choker cable (couldn't find sources that were not selling the product but would have linked it regardless). Participants start the race by unbuckling the choker, they then run through the customized obstacle course and finish by looping it around a large log, imitating strapping choker cables to logs in wood production for transport. The participants must wear gloves and a helmet, as the loose cable can weigh more than 40 pounds. There is no standardization for the orientation of the obstacle course and is left up to the venue. Courses must allow at least 12 feet wide of room for participants, and the course has limitations for difficulty and safety.

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Equipment:

-In woodsmen competitions, the required equipment consists of cross-cut saws, bow saws, axes, peaveys, helmets, gloves, foot and leg protection, and climbing gear for the pole climb.

- For Horizontal Speed chop, Hard hit, and vertical speed chop and hard hit, heavier, and sharper race axes are used. These Axes have a broader face, with more edge to cut into the wood, and are often sharpened more than an average splitting axe. The origins and design of racing axes come from the single–bit felling ax, or American ax, a standard felling axe used in field work since the late 18th century.

Hard-hit horizontal chop

- This event is a variation on the underhand chop which scores a competitor not on time, but on the number of axe swings needed to sever the log. The least amount of swings used to cut through the log determines the winner. If two contestents tie, then time is taken into consideration, and whomever completed the log faster wins.

General Article Editing:

This event is run as either a doubles or team event. As a crosscut saw is a two-man saw, each cut must be made with a pair of teammates. A series of cookies are sawed off for time, as in the bow saw event. The saws used for these events tend to be the most expensive individual pieces of equipment for a woodsman team, running into thousands of dollars for a competition-filed peg and raker or M tooth saw. Great pains are taken before the event is run to examine the log being cut for knots or imperfections which can damage these very expensive and delicate instruments.

Bibliography:

Chainsaw Equipment Catalog. Forest Operations Equipment Catalog: Chainsaw. (n.d.). http://www.fs.usda.gov/forestmanagement/equipment-catalog/chainsaw.shtml

Competition events | colby woodsmen. Colby Woodsman Competition Events. (n.d.). https://web.colby.edu/woodsmen/competition-events/

ECHO Outdoor Power Equipment. (2024). Event Rules. Canadian Intercolligiate LumberJack Associastion. http://www.cilawoodsmen.ca/rules/event-rules/choker-race

Echo. (2019, August 1). Paul Bunyan Lumberjack Show Events. Paul Bunyan Lumberjack Show. https://lumberjackent.com/events/

Flentje, P. (2022, December 19). The basics of racing axes. Engineered for Axemen. https://engineeredforaxemen.com.au/blogs/axe-knowledge/the-basics-of-racing-axes#:~:text=A%20racing%20axe%20is%20a,user%20greater%20control%20and%20power.

General Woodmen Competition rules. Canadian Intercollegiate Lumberjacking Association (CILA ). (n.d.). http://www.cilawoodsmen.ca/rules/general-rules/

Hallman, R. (1997). Handtools for trail work. USDA Forest Service, Technology & Development Program.

Kauffman, H. J. (2007). American axes: A survey of their development and their makers. Masthof Press.

The Lumberjack World Championships. (2024). Lumberjack Sport events. Lumberjack World Championships. https://lumberjackworldchampionships.com/events/

STHIL. (2015, December 16). The world logging Championships: Disciplines. STIHL: World Logging Championship. https://www.stihl.com/worldloggingchampionship.aspx

Timbersports disciplines: 6 disciplines in detail. STIHL. (2015, December 16). https://www.stihl.com/timbersports-disciplines.aspx

U.S. Forest Service. (n.d.). Chainsaw. equipment catalogue; chainsaw. https://www.fs.usda.gov/forestmanagement/equipment-catalog/chainsaw.shtml

United States Department of Agriculture: United States Forest Service. (n.d.). 0523-2810-MTDC: Handtools for trail work. https://www.fs.usda.gov/t-d/pubs/htmlpubs/htm05232810/page05.htm

United States Department of Agriculture: United States Forest Service. (n.d.). T & D Publications. 0423-2822P-MTDC: Saws that sing. https://www.fs.usda.gov/t-d/pubs/htmlpubs/htm04232822/page04.htm

Weisgerber, B. (2010, November 16). An Ax to Grind: A Practical Ax Manuel. 9923-2823P-MTDC: An ax to grind: A practical ax manual. https://www.fs.usda.gov/t-d/pubs/htmlpubs/htm99232823/page02.htm

Woodsman noun - definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes ... Oxford Learners Dictionaries. (n.d.). https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/woodsman